Moderately mod

>> The Frenetics dust off the '80s but leave the skinny ties in the closet

By JOHNSON CUMMINS

The stony beaches of Brighton, where rockers and mods would meet to "'ave it out," may be just a murky memory, dissipated due to the mass ingesting of cheap barbiturates. But there's a whole new generation of mods and '80s punkers freakin' on safety pins and skinny ties these days. Recent Gap ads have been featuring mods and Manhattan's current club craze has been mod nights with pogoing punkers.

Still don't believe me, huh? Well, chew on this, my friend: did ya ever wonder what happened to Platinum Blonde's Mark Holmes? He now hosts a mod night in Toronto.

Mark Holmes? Mod?! Who's next, Dee Snider?

Montreal's Frenetics have the same Jam, Clash and Costello sound that is sweeping the nation, so you would think they would be dressing for success, wouldn't cha? "We really love that U.K. sound of the '80s," explains Frentics singer Malcolm Bauld, "but I can't see this band actually wearing the clothes and everything. I like the Clash and the Jam because I was born in the U.K., so naturally I would look to England for some of my influences. But as far as jumping on that bandwagon..."

What makes the Frenetics debut EP a standout Montreal release is that while the mod sound is high up in the mix, a large influence from the Stateside indie scenes seeps into the whole shebang as well. "Especially the Discord and Lookout labels," says Malcolm. "So I guess that's how we come up with our sound."

The Frenetics sound almost didn't come out at all, as Bauld was considering a move back to B.C. before the band started getting down to business. "I've felt really proud about being part of the Montreal music scene. People seem to be getting excited about local bands again, and that can't be said about a lot of other places now. It's a really good time to be a band from Montreal, so I just couldn't leave."

Guess it beats being a tired old glam rocker from Toronto spinning Who records, anyway. :

CD launch with guests Blue Jacket Rebellion, LowBrow and Eric Munday, at Club Zone tonight, Thursday, March 2